Has anyone noticed this?

[The Specialist]

I recently bought myself the latest two games in the elder scrolls series, then I got to thinking about the two creatures ( Khajiit and Argonian ) or ( the cat man and the lizard man ) and all my brain could do was compare it with the nephilm and slitheraki from the avernum series, then i checked up wiki and the first elder scrolls game was created a year before the first exile game, did Jeff draw some of his inspiration from this???

 

Just say if Im completely wrong

[Alorael at Large]

For one thing, I'm fairly certain that E1 was first released in 1994. I'm not positive, but I do know Wikipedia is off on the dates: it has E2 released in 1996 when it won awards in 1995.

 

That said, the idea of fantasy cat and lizard people isn't original to The Elder Scrolls, either. Animal-like races are just a basic, common enough idea in fantasy and even mythology that I think credit is hard to attribute. That said, the shared affinity for intelligence and swimming between sliths and Argonians is interesting, at least.

 

—Alorael, who would mostly be surprised if in the rather short time between Arena and Exile Jeff went back and inserted two races that had to be fairly central from early in development. It's more likely to be chance.

[Randomizer]

It's more likely that Jeff took the ideas from fantasy literature.

[Lilith]

the Wizardry series has had both cat-dudes and lizard-dudes since Wizardry VI in 1990 and i'm pretty sure it's an acknowledged influence on Jeff's games, so if you want a plausible common source of inspiration there it is

[Erebus the Black]

I suggest you read some of the works of Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany to see just how far back these ideas of fantasy creatures exist

(how odd, of all his names the only word the spell checker does not recognize is "Dunsany")

[Harehunter]

Originally Posted By: Lilith

the Wizardry series has had both cat-dudes and lizard-dudes since Wizardry VI in 1990 and i'm pretty sure it's an acknowledged influence on Jeff's games, so if you want a plausible common source of inspiration there it is

I never met a cat-dude before, but in electronics class I learned about cat-toads and ant-toads. One of them had great potential, the other was just revolting.

I'd better get myself back to ground.

[Student of Trinity]

Drax and Plunkett are words? Yipes.

 

Dunsany was cool. He pretty much created fantasy as a genre, at least in the sense that if you have to pick one guy as the creator, he's the clear choice. He was also a chess master and a marksman and a few other things, as well as being an actual baron, and living in an actual castle. Apparently 'Dunsany' is pronounced to rhyme with 'un-rainy'.

 

I've only actually read a few of his books, though.

 

Also: He had lots of names.

[Randomizer]

I was surprised by how many of Lord Dunsany's books I own that I haven't gotten around to reading. I've read mostly collections of his short stories. He was a heavy influence on later writers.